Yale

James Duderstadt began his long and highly distinguished academic pursuits when he graduated summa cum laude from Yale, receiving a degree in electrical engineering. He played varsity football as an undergraduate and went on to earn an M.S. and a Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology in 1967.

He began a lustrous career in the academic world as an assistant professor of nuclear engineering at the University of Michigan. Duderstadt rose to become dean of the College of Engineering in 1981, provost in 1986, and president of the university from 1988 to 1996. During his career, he became an advisor to national laboratories and federal agencies, and served as a member, then chairman, of the National Science Board.

He has been a board member or chairman of organizations such as the Nuclear Energy Research Advisory Committee, the National Research Panel on Scholarship in the Digital Age, and the National Academy of Engineering. Duderstadt was awarded the Presidential Medal of Technology in 1991 and was chosen National Engineer of the Year by the Society of Professional Engineers. 

In addition to receiving numerous teaching awards and honors, Duderstadt has co-authored a dozen books on scientific subjects and also written several books about the role of a university in this century. In that regard, he remained active as a director of the Millennium Project at the University of Michigan and as a member of the National Research Council of the United States Department of Energy.